Arugula Pesto Pasta with Pancetta

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There are so many varieties of pesto and each and every one of them is delicious. Pesto Genovese is the traditional pesto that originated in Liguria and is named after its capital city Genoa. Pesto is a derivative of the verb pestare which means"to ground or crush" with a mortar and pestle. The history of pesto is quite fascinating and like so many other Italian dishes was born out of poverty and necessity. The impoverished would forage for basil growing wild and crush them  with large amounts of garlic and olive oil, pine nuts and cheese. The Genovese take pesto so seriously that they have competitions bi-annually to determine the best pesto producers!

As time went on and the world began to experience pesto it became more diverse and now pesto has evolved to include many herbs and greens and a variety of nuts and vegetables. 

My most favourite pesto is comprised of arugula, some basil, toasted walnuts, lemon, garlic, parmigiano-reggiano  and good quality extra virgin olive oil. The peppery notes of the arugula is mellowed by the sweetness of the basil and goes so incredibly well with the toasted walnuts. Add as much garlic as you like, a splash of lemon and salty parmigiano and I promise you will fall in love! Combine with crispy pancetta and tossed into your pasta and your family will definitely be wanting more!

Pesto can be stored in the fridge in a mason jar for up to 3 days or can be frozen for longer. I use ice cube trays and once frozen pop them into a freezer bag and then pull them out when needed!

If you are fortunate to have a mortar and pestle then please feel free to use that to crush the pesto (just like the Genovese do) otherwise a food processor works great!

As with all of my recipes the measurements for spices are just estimates. Don't like a spice? Then leave it out! If you feel you want more of one ingredients then add more! When it is enough for you is what QB signifies in my recipes. It is important to start with small additions of spices and then taste test and adjust as you go along. Quanto basta  is what Italian cooking is all about.  Let your taste buds be your guide!

For this recipe I used a 500 gram package of Bombardoni Rigate.  This sauce works best paired with a sturdy pasta shape with texture that can hold the delicious sauce. Penne rigate, rigatoni, fusilli,pacheri and farfalle are some good examples. 

Cominciamo!

Ingredients

• extra virgin olive oil
• 1 package of precut pancetta or a pancetta round about 2 inches wide and dice into small cubes
• 2 diced shallots
• 1/4 tsp peperoncino
• 4 cups arugula washed and dried well
• a handful of basil leaves washed and dried (remove stems)
• 2-3 large garlic cloves peeled and halved (QB)
• 1/2 cup toasted walnuts for pesto 
• 1/2 chopped toasted walnuts for topping
• 1/2 cup grated parmigiano-reggiano and more for topping
• 2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 tsp of sea salt
• 1/4 tsp peperoncino (QB)
• 1  500 gram package of pasta of your choice 

                                                                                                                                      

Directions

1. Place the arugula and basil in the food processor
2. Add garlic, cheese, walnuts, garlic and lemon juice and cover
3. Pulse a few times to mix all ingredients and scrape down sides. Slowly begin to pour in olive oil until you have a thick and creamy consistency. You want to keep adding until the oil has emulsified and the pesto is a uniform consistency to your liking
4. Taste test and adjust the seasonings. Add salt if needed at this point. Give it one last quick pulse and put aside.
5. At this point, put the water on to boil
6. Coat the bottom of a large skillet pan with olive oil and warm up
7. Add pancetta, shallots and peperoncino and allow pancetta to render down and get crispy
8. Once pancetta is nice and crispy remove from pan and place on a plate lined with paper towels. Remove any excess oil from pan and just leave enough to coat bottom of pan.
9. Drop pasta into salted boiling water and cook until al dente.
10. Using a spider transfer cooked pasta to the large skillet and return to heated element but do not turn it on. The heat from the pasta will be enough the warm up the pesto sauce. 
11. Add pesto and stir in quickly to pasta. Add 1/2 a ladle of pasta water and continue to stir until a nice creamy sauce develops. No more than a few minutes. Add more water if too dry.
12. Add pancetta, walnuts and parmigiano and stir in. Sprinkle a few on top as well!
13. Serve immediately!

Pasta is ready to be served!

Buon Appetito

Fatto con Amore, 

Elena💜